Bajaj Dominar 400 launched, to take on Royal Enfield

Mumbai, Dec. 16 -- Bajaj Auto Ltd on Thursday launched the Dominar 400, a new motorcyle targeted at the touring segment of the two-wheeler market, currently dominated by Royal Enfield.
Priced at Rs136,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) and Rs150,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the non-ABS and dual-channel ABS variants, respectively, the Dominar 400 is Bajaj Auto's biggest bike-in terms of engine displacement.
Powered by a 373cc triple-spark, four-valve DTS-i engine, the Dominar 400 makes 35 bhp of power at the crank and about 35 NM of torque is sent to the real wheel via a six-speed gearbox. The bike is also liquid-cooled and fuel-injected.
Bajaj claims the Dominar 400 is the first in a series of big muscular bikes for the fast-growing premium biking segment, the company claimed in a statement.
'Dominar' is the Pune-based manufacturer's second all-new motorcycle brand launched this year, as it seeks to recover ground in India's competitive two-wheeler market. It launched the V series of motorcycles in February.
With the new offering, Bajaj Auto expects to corner at least 20% of the mid-size segment of the two-wheeler market, said Eric Vas, president (motorcycle business) at the firm, in a phone interview. The size of the segment is currently at 65,000 units a month, of which Royal Enfield accounts for 52%, he added. Bajaj currently sells the Pulsar RS200 and KTM's Duke and RC series motorcycles in the segment where it has a 7% share.
The Dominar 400 will be available at 80 Bajaj showrooms in 22 towns, and deliveries are slated to start in January 2017. The firm aims to sell 10,000 units a month.
According to Nitesh Sharma, analyst with Phillip Capital India, "The new offering will help the company recoup ground it was ceding to rivals. The Dominar, however, may not be able to wean buyers off Royal Enfield bikes, which has dominated the segment for several years."
Hit by the cash crunch, two-wheeler sales in the domestic market fell 6% to 1,243,251 units in November from a year ago, according to the Society of Indian Automobile manufacturers (Siam). Bajaj motorcycle sales too fell 12% to 237,757 units, against 270,886 units in the same period.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from MINT.